Road Trip Joplin, MO. - Elk City, OK. 06-01-13

Last night in Joplin was stormy and the thunder woke me up a couple times.  I didn't want to put in earplugs because the front desk clerk had told me that they would ring every one's room if there was another tornado threat.  It rained all night, creating flash flood warnings all over Oklahoma and southern Missouri.


From my window about 4am.
 

Another picture about the same time, I was hoping I could catch the river running through the lot.
 

But this morning when I went out to my car there was this mockingbird singing at the top of his lungs.  Between the mockingbirds and the robins it was pretty noisy out.   But can I blame them for singing?  They survived the night and the storm.
 

As I headed SW on I-44 this was the view ahead - a few clouds.
 

To the east there were piles of clouds to the horizon.  (I didn't even see the oil well pump when I took the picture.)
 

Looking west the sky is an unblemished inverted blue bowl over the fields of wild flowers.  I notice now that there is just the tip of a cloud about a fourth of the way from the left.
 

I tried to take pictures that showed the wildflowers along the road - Indian Paintbrush was thick in spots.   Some lupine, lots of daisies, wild vetch in spots and something pink that I haven't any idea what it might be.  The flower blossoms are just too small to stand out at 75mph.
 

A beautiful clear sky, but what is that down the middle of the road?
 

I am pretty sure I have never seen a double white "dashed" line on the roadway before.  Anyone know what it means?  Or did the pavement painter just stutter?
 

Another wild flower attempt.
 

In the area of OKCity there was quite a bit of flooding - red soil tints the water.  
 

I took this picture for the peeled back roof of the large building on the left.  But there is the flooding again in the foreground.
 

This may be a river or just flooded pastures.
 

This river was well over it's banks.
 

Tonight I am at a Hampton Inn in Elk City, OK.  Turns out there is a HIE here, but so new it isn't in the AAA book.  This place is also very new and has some new "accessories" - like this "deadbolt" in place of a chain or one of those hairpin latches.  It took some fiddling for me to figure it out.
 

Here it is flipped out to stop the door from opening.

Road Trip - Stormy in Joplin, MO 05-31-13

I am still in Joplin, MO.  As it turned out I should have left this morning and I would be west of the storm.  Guessed wrong this time. 


The wind was strong all day.  I can watch this tree from the window of my room.  Hard to take a picture of wind, but it was really whipping the trees around. 
 

Mid-day it was sunny with clouds and the wind decreased some.
 

I have been missing sushi, so I looked up the possibilities in Joplin.  There are only two and this one had the best rating.  I went about 6:30pm and had very good sushi and slow service.  They make a roll called New York, New York - spicy crab and small slivers of Granny Smith apple - which is quite delicious.  I also had the miso soup and a spicy tuna hand roll.  The presentation wasn't unusual so I didn't take pictures.
 

I wondered about this rock just off the sidewalk, guess it is a "stone garden".  Odd.
 

This was the view from the parking lot when I came out - looking west.  Heading our way.
 

About fifteen minutes later - the view from the motel parking lot.

About 8:30pm I had a call from Liz in CA, who had checked The Weather Channel and was concerned.  While I was talking to her the room phone rang - it was a warning from the front desk that a tornado warning had been issued and I should come downstairs for safety.  I took my laptop, phone, camera, book and purse down and sat on the floor in the room behind the desk for about 40 minutes.  There were a man and his college age son from SBarbara heading for St. Louis, a couple with a newly adopted three week old baby girl, and a young woman with her lovely little mutt, Abby.  The college guy was the most nervous, however I think it was not over the possibility of a tornado, but the fact that he was missing a ball game being broadcast from out of the area.  To each his own, eh?

Don't know what I will do in the morning.  But don't worry, I won't go if there is a threat down I-44 and across I-40.

Road Trip - Metropolis, IL - Joplin, MO 05-30-13

Started out again from HIE in Metropolis, IL., heading for Tulsa, OK.  This is a photo of a standard HIE room with two queen beds.  Not only do I seem to sleep better in a queen, the two queens rooms are slightly cheaper.  That is because most guests prefer rooms with one king.  Odd.


You might notice that my "catch-all" basket  (on the far right) is mended with yellow duct tape.  I actually stepped on the side of the basket (don't ask) and broke the handle.  The duct tape is working well.

I drove through the town of Metropolis (HIE is on the highway) to reach US-60W.  And there were these signs.  I don't know who Noel Neill was, but Superman is another story.
 

See, I DID see Superman!  Compare the people to realize how tall he is.
 

There were a dozen people around, but they suddenly left and gave me this great shot.
 

And around the corner is an entrepreneur ready to supply whatever Super stuff you need.
 

I found the way to US-60, going through many small towns and past a lot of fields and pastures and boarded up small stores and gas stations.  This photo was taken as I drove 30mph through Karmack, MO. The flag on the left is in front of the volunteer fire dept. 

Things begin to look worse as I drove west.  The Weather Channel storm chasers keep talking about the little "hooks" on the leading edge of the clouds - they can become tornadoes.  I saw quite a few "hooks" today.  But no tornadoes.
 

Off to the SW the clouds were fat pillows dragging down close to the ground.
 

Oh, OH!  Those aren't bug splats, they are raindrops from the trailing edge of that black cloud.  But I see blue sky and in the far distance, sunlight on the pavement.

 

Then the road curved and another Oh, OH!  This looked really bad.
 

And I am driving directly for the rain.
 

Looks like it is moving NE while I am going SW and I'll miss it.
 

WRONG.  Here comes more rain.
 

And then a stretch of sunshine and dry pavement.
 

And then more rain.
 

Around a curve and there are wildflowers and cattle basking in the sun.
From then on things got seriously bad and I decided I needed to get off the highway since I couldn't see much of anything.  Some cars were running with their emergency flashers on and I realized how much better I could see them - I turned mine on also. It was pretty wild, probably the worst storm I have driven in - a deluge of rain, high velocity crosswinds, lightning and thunder (I could hear it over the rain and the road noise), and there was a dense "up splash" from the trucks still going 65 - 70 mph.  I couldn't take it and when the next off ramp came in sight I took it.  It was only a county road, no services, but there was a non-functioning gas station with nobody around but a couple of 18-wheelers.  I pulled under the canopy that covers the defunct gas pumps - I could feel my stress level drop as the noise from the rain on the car roof stopped and I peeled my hands from the steering wheel.  Right after me came three more cars who pulled up next to the "non" pumps under the canopy.  We sat there about twenty minutes until the storm lessened.   I could not take any pictures as all my attention needed to be on just driving - what could be seen anyway?  It was just a white screen of water.   I decided I had had enough and exited the highway at Joplin, MO, booked a room at the Courtyard Suites (same hotel group as HIE, but no cinnamon rolls),  and ate at Starbuck's - a bacon breakfast sandwich and a latte.  When I checked into my room I did a few exercises and some relaxation movements, which helped, but I am still tense.  Guess I should go to bed.  The weather projection for I-40 is bad, so I don't know where I will be tomorrow night.  Maybe still here!
 

US-60 is not an Interstate and has only slightly restricted access.  It goes through a lot of little communities and there are many driveways/country roads that enter on both sides.  In the towns they have "Signal Ahead" signs that light up.  In the grey rectangle it says RED in red when the light is red.  I've not seen this anywhere but in Missouri.  But then , I have been everywhere!

Road Trip - A Day in Paducah 05-29-13

I didn't intend to spend the entire day in Paducah, but that is what happened.  It was extremely hot and I moved very slowly.  I drove around to see some places I hadn't seen before and also some that I had seen on previous trips. 

 
So, back across the Ohio River (where the sunset picture was taken yesterday) where I could see that the banks are almost covered with water.  A lot of rain running down from storms further north.
 

Hard to get the entire sign in a picture - this is the parking lot side of the building.
 

 

 

It was 95F and very humid.  I don't find the Lexus RX330 very comfortable to drive, especially on a long trip, but I REALLY enjoy the trip information.  In a glance I have almost all the info I need.  I had just filled up with gas before I went to the Museum and all two miles were on surface streets.

After I had spent some time and money at the Museum I headed for Hancock's which is almost across the street from the HIE that only had smoking rooms.   I saw this sign along the way and pulled around the corner and parked.  By the time I arrived at the table it was unattended.  I knocked on the front door and the entrepreneur came out to prepare the lemonade fresh using a method I had never seen.  She filled a large cup with ice, squeezed a half a lemon over the ice, added sugared water from the cooler and poured from the cup to a larger plastic "beaker" half a dozen times.  Then she handed it to me and I gave her four quarters.  Notice that she just through the spent lemon on the ground!   While she was helping me two other people stopped and waited, however they seemed to be regulars.
Her name is "DER-reek-a".  I asked her where her name came from and she said her mother gave it to her!  Oh, well.   
 

Here is the Lexus parked in front of Hancock's.  I was hot and tired and not really in the mood for fabric shopping, but I looked at a lot of aisles, picked out four bolts that were on sale and two others that I liked.  I bought three yards of one fabric that I already have, but I have used most of it and am pleased to find more.   

By the time I finished I was even hotter and more tired.  I listened to a weather report and decided that I would be wise to stay put for another night.  I called the HIE in Metropolis, IL, asked if they still had room 106 available and they did.  So, back across the Ohio River to HIE for another comfortable night.